January 2017

you don’t have to fundamentally change who you are to be the best version of you.

You are always enough. Always. Your fundamental wisdom is always there, waiting for you. It is always good enough. If any change is desired, may I suggest doing so in a spirit of uncovering, rediscovering, re-valuing, redirecting, and a refocusing of who you essentially are.

2017 is a year of considered action, of collective maturity against reactivity, against judgement, against separation. It is a lofty goal. But we embark upon this together in our own unique ways, and I know we are so capable of many beautiful things – for in these times it is ever more important to create things of great beauty.

Happy new year! I wish you all the grace, beauty, peace, and an unwavering trust in your own innate wisdom. Much love.

P.S. here’s a simple exercise to help you say goodbye to 2016:

REPEATABLES: Think of one thing that worked for you in 2016. Do more of it in 2017!

CONGRATULATIONS: I did _____ in 2016, and I’m really proud of it.

GOODBYE: I no longer need ______ in my life. I appreciate that it taught me to _______ (if any). Thank you, and goodbye.

ARIES

The World

Congratulations, Aries! Look at you: you’ve grown so much that you’re barely recognizable from just a year ago. What can you look forward to this year? A fresh new phase of your life, where you can shrug off the listlessness of the past years, where you may have felt like you were merely twiddling your thumbs waiting for something to happen. Those months and years tested you, molded you, imbued you with practical skills and all sorts of know-how, and this dawning age will show you just how necessary it was to go through all of that. What’s beautiful is that you have shown vulnerability and really dared to put yourself out there in 2016 – you dared to show what you’re really passionate about.

2017 asks that you take it one step further by expanding on your vision and continuing to show it to the world. What’s for sure is that your future will not merely be a repeat of the past: you have the opportunity to create something truly novel. All it asks for is your faith and attention.

January starts off slow but builds into something more exciting come February. So take this time to tie up loose ends, slough off the last vestiges of some sticky habits for good, so that you can step into the rest of your year with confidence.

TAURUS

3 of Pentacles

That driving need you have to work and to see tangible achievement? You will definitely be seeing that need fulfilled if you simply keep on doing what you’re doing. Because you are on the right track! Keep pulling your weight, but also allow others to help you. Up the ante; expect excellence and competence from yourself and others.

2016 really helped to refine your work ethic in surprising ways. You realized that it’s not so great going solo all the time, you discovered that you work better with some personalities than others, you realized where it’s better to rely on yourself. This year will continue this theme of learning more about yourself through the mirror that others hold up to you. Working with others will bring more success and joy than it has in past years – you will finally find the right match. And that’s no coincidence: the more you love and value yourself, the more you’ll be able to attract to you the people you really need in your life.

However, it’s also important to not allow your need for security suck all the joy and fun out of life. Let some air in now and then. Schedule in blocks of good, solid nothingness – take time to destress, enjoy art, music, and allow joy to factor into all things you do.

GEMINI

5 of Swords reversed

This month will kick off the year with some re-focusing: where are you choosing to direct your considerable energies? You’re surrounded by all these different forces tugging at you, but the fact is, you don’t have to engage unless you really want to. Perhaps some people are used to you picking up the slack, or troubleshooting their dramas, or rescuing the day. But are those roles really authentic to who you are? Could others benefit from doing their own housekeeping, for once? Save some of your energy on things that truly serve you. Especially if they are simply distractions from what really matter most! Allow space for that amazing idea to have a chance to get your attention, my love.

2017 is all about exercising this choice: do you engage or no? Do you react or respond? Take the time to observe some of your more knee jerk responses and see if you can slow them down enough to make more conscious choices instead. Because the truth is, this year holds great promise for you and your creative endeavors – you’re being asked to ground them in a solid foundation. It will pay off handsomely for you if you can focus, carve out quiet time, and reconnect with your heart’s desires – and make this practice a priority in your life.

CANCER

Strength reversed

This new year, resist the urge to draw up a checklist in a bid to change all of your perceived flaws – instead, for everything you wish were different, pretend that it’s the superpower you wished for, and were divinely granted. It’s here. THIS very thing is your superpower. What if your tendency to overanalyze is really just your sense of thoughtfulness and consideration, only on overdrive? What if that habit you view as letting everyone walk all over you is simply heartfelt compassion that just needs to be properly valued and redirected? Don’t make yourself wrong right from the start. Allow yourself to see yourself in a different light, because this light comes closer to the truth.

This year, any change you seek will not come from berating yourself harshly or coming down hard on yourself. Treat yourself with as much gentleness as you can muster, and save your toughness on erecting boundaries against those overly self-critical thoughts. Be on your own team, dear Cancer, and any perceived obstacles will easily melt away in the face of your solid self-love.

LEO

5 of Cups reversed

I think 2016 was very much like a Korean spa experience for you. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it can involve crazy hot waters, a freezing cold dunk right after, followed by an extremely vigorous and painful exfoliation, interspersed with bouts of relaxation and pleasure thrown in… In summary, it was a rollercoaster year designed to help you get rid of all that no longer served in your life. The great news is that you’re finally done with that whole cycle now! January offers you the opportunity to make sense of the entire process and to finally surface from those murky depths you found yourself in. You’re stepping out with brand new baby smooth skin that’s still a little raw, so be sure to be gentle and take it slow. Instead of making brash strides, keep them for February when your energy level climbs higher.

This year will give you plenty of opportunity to find people, places and things to fit this new version of you. All you have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other, and keep your eye on the path ahead. It’s like driving a car: you can’t get anywhere (safely) if you keep gazing into the rearview mirror. Define your future not by the wounds of your past, but by the truth of your present, very vast potential.

VIRGO

8 of Cups

The path forward lies in looking back, especially this month, dear Virgo. You’re very much in reflection mode in January and that’s where your head needs to be. You’re balancing your impulses for moving forward with a good dose of processing the very complex year that was 2016. And that’s all good, because all of that will pay off when you are able to make more decisive steps come February. For now, it’s enough to simply carry out your obligations and do what needs to be done, while you take your time parsing through the emotional highs and lows of last year. The lows, especially, need to be fully sat with, explored, felt, and then finally released… Go into it without fear. Trust that you will emerge renewed. Insights will come to you when you allow yourself quiet downtime, no forcing or strategizing necessary. Keep a notebook handy.

When I think of 2017 for you, a juicy peach comes to mind. Your creative expression will bring sweetness to your life when you truly take time, settle down, and allow Source to express itself through you – even if just for an hour each day. Seriously, all you need to do is show up, and the magic will happen. Cutting down on sugar and other stimulants will serve you especially well in becoming a clearer channel for your art to come through.

LIBRA

3 of Wands

It’s so exciting where you are at: looking out ahead of you, with all these possibilities dancing in front of your eyes. And no, they are not mirages, or fantasies – they are real, and within your grasp. 2016 was truly a year of growth and expansion for you – and remember: growth doesn’t necessarily have to look like an upward trajectory. Any time you felt challenged, where you met your deepest fears and dared to take a closer look at some of your long-held worries without running away too quickly, you grew. The question is, how much further beyond your comfort zone are you willing to venture? Do you dare to go deeper, to show your expertise and your talents to a wider audience than before? I suspect if you move towards what’s uncomfortable but thrilling, you’ll find that it will be much more rewarding than you ever imagined.

The year will offer you a plethora of choices. While your ideas are unlimited, your time and energies are finite – so choose with long term growth in mind. The seeds you sow this year will help you thrive for years to come and go towards molding the next 5 years of your life at least! Everything that turns up for you this year will show you a new facet of yourself you – all you have to do is be willing, be curious, and allow your evolving self to simply be, without forming judgments too quickly.

SCORPIO

Knight of Wands

One thing’s for sure: you are feeling ready to go, and raring to make this your best year yet. In fact, you’ve been feeling ready for a change for a while now, and it’s a great time to make a career change or to start on an entirely new path. Something is dawning in you, calling out to you, and it would be wise to tune in to hear what your heart is telling you. This could also simply be an impulse to shake up some dusty corner of your life, not limited to your career. Perhaps your attitudes towards relationships, friendships or even personal expression needs a reinvention. Don’t overthink this – go with what moves you. Take up a friend’s offer to go somewhere new. Try out a new art form or activity. Synchronicities are all around you at this time – follow the signs! Your intuition is heightened at this point.

2017 will bring in another wave of change that closely follows the tsunami of change that 2016 was all about. While 2016 was more internally focused, 2017 is a lot more about how you express and externalize those deeply-felt transformations you went through in your heart and mind. It’s a beautiful time to explore and experiment: you don’t have to decide or settle too quickly.

SAGITTARIUS

Queen of Wands

You’re blazing with energy and ready to channel it into your most cherished projects, and this month is the perfect time to lay the groundwork for it. Coming out of a revolutionary 2016, you have considerable ambition and drive to meet your next level of evolution. To help you focus, commit to some form of physical activity that can help you ground excess energy. Don’t waste your fire on trifling matters, or accidentally burning some poor soul – or yourself – with your sharp tongue! You have a tendency to get blunt when your sharp and clever mind is in need of a good, engrossing project to plunge into. Identify those that truly get you buzzing, and get started on them. (But do remember to honor your existing commitments, too!)

This year looks to be yet another year where you’re learning to channel your energies into building something for the long term. You’re challenged to stay. You’re challenged to have a solid follow through. To meet your commitments and to carry them out with a light heart. Also: you are more than capable of it. The work you put in will bring in all the rewards you deserve, and more.

CAPRICORN

5 of Pentacles reversed

Thanks to some solid maneuvering and your famous let’s-make-the-best-out-of-this attitude, you are starting the year in a great position. Any feelings of stuckness will melt away, and even those trickier feelings will finally find release. 2016 involved making all these adjustments to your trajectory. Even though it may have brought you down from time to time, you remained sensitive to the need to course-correct. By following your intuition, you have learnt that you’re a lot more flexible than you thought. It’s this knowledge that will serve you so well in the coming year: you’re able to look at situations in a new light. Proof of your growth: those things that used to bother you so much, suddenly seem so much smaller and insignificant now, don’t they? Congratulations on your new sense of perspective!

2017 is one that will bring you tangible reward – any financial woes will see relief, especially because you’ve learnt how to leverage your resources in intelligent and efficient ways. Your newfound talents and strengths will also come into good use, and as long as you keep investing time and energy into your own considerable gifts, truly believing they are worth every effort, you are on the right track.

AQUARIUS

5 of Swords reversed

In terms of your ideas and revelations, you’re often way ahead of the curve, dear Aquarius. That means that not everyone has the same level of self-awareness and cool objectivity that you have. While it may be tempting to get into verbal sparring matches with others, it may serve you better to simply look more deeply into what’s truly driving this desire. Is it a need to push others to get woke? Are you hoping that a revolution will come sooner rather than later? Your urge for activism is truly rising in you, and it may serve you (and all of us!) better if you can start using your considerable intellect for the greater good, if you haven’t already. We all need your fiery energy channeled towards a constructive cause.

2017 is a year when you will truly walk your talk and test out your ideals. This is an important process because it’s about time the world gets to see some of the ideas that have been swirling around in your head. Your ability to stay the course and get people moving towards a shared goal is absolutely gold at this point of time. What is it that gets your fire burning? What pushes your buttons? Dare to turn it into art and show it to the world. Your vision is what the world so badly needs, dear Aquarius.

PISCES

Death

This year opens up with one irrevocable truth for you: it’s no longer possible to ignore your deepest yearnings. It’s also no longer possible to keep playing down your strengths. A deep change has been rolling through your life and this month, the only thing you can do is to allow yourself to loosen your grip on things that have already been on their way out for some time. It’s something you have been feeling all throughout 2016, and right now you will start to see these changes manifest. These could be in the form of job changes, lifestyle changes, quitting something for good or exploring a new area of study. It’s also about finally being able to let go of some hang ups that have been at the back of your mind and heart all year. Let go. Say goodbye.

2017 will herald a new era for you – one that will see you more fully embodying and embracing your emotions, your thirst for life, and braving those emotions that may have scared you with how vulnerable it may have made you feel. And because of this, you may experience new depths of emotion, and a new blossoming urge to create things of great beauty. Why not follow that urge, and see where it leads you?